Freeze-proof piping design for multi-head shower

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Steve Zerby

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Hi folks,

I'm installing a two-person shower where each station has multiple body sprays, a handheld shower and a regular fixed showerhead. Moen 3/4" exact-temp valves...same as attached diagram but with two body sprays rather than four. I was planning on piping all the in-wall stuff with copper, but the balancing loop for the body sprays has me worried about creating a trap that can't drain if the house is ever left cold over winter, which happens a lot in our area. Should I pipe the balancing loop in pex to allow some degree of freeze protection in the loop? The rest should be able to be set up to drain back.
 

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Jadnashua

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The fittings and valve could still freeze and have damage if in pex.

With a fairly complex system like that, you may need to make provisions to be able to hook up a compressor and blow them all dry if freezing were a possibility.
 

Steve Zerby

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Ok, so I’m ready to start assembling and soldering the shower valve setup for this double shower, and I’m wondering how best to deal with the threaded adapters everywhere and relatively tight quarters. I’m trying to keep the spacing on the fittings on grid with the 4 x 8 subway tile layout, so things have to be distanced by 4” modules, which makes for some pretty tight copper fitting.

I know it’s not good to solder on a threaded fitting after it’s been taped, doped and tightened into the valve bodies. In the past I’ve hade things far enough apart that I could at least have a little bit of straight pipe pre-soldered to the fitting, turned it in, then soldered on from there. But everything is so close together with this setup, and it’s 3/4 inch piping, so I don’t see any way to do that in this instance.

Any tips on how to approach soldering and assembling these two setups so that everything stays precisely 4 or 8 inches parent? See photos
EBF6EFC5-A875-4479-8180-063AE01441FA.jpeg
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hj

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Those balancing loops are assinine. Just insert the tees between the two heads and forget about all the 'unnecessary, and pressure loss PRODUCING, loops. i get around the problem of heating a threaded connection by SOLDERING the adapters into the valve bodies.
 

Steve Zerby

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Those balancing loops are assinine. Just insert the tees between the two heads and forget about all the 'unnecessary, and pressure loss PRODUCING, loops. i get around the problem of heating a threaded connection by SOLDERING the adapters into the valve bodies.

I was wondering about the loops, but that’s what Moen shows in their literature. I was asking a plumber that I have used in the past about it (he’s too busy for my little job now) and he says the important thing is to have the two sprays be equidistant from T if you don’t use loops. I don’t mind doing the loops if it’s insurance for equal pressure out of the two body sprays. Not a big deal to solder up four more elbows.

So when you solder the fittings in, just wire brush it, flux up the threads, and solder away? I would assume you take all the guts out of the valves first.

Like this without loops? :

1F1F4759-C760-4299-AE38-D4B1DEC6F529.jpeg
DADA6953-94BB-4B46-A696-F61778858F20.jpeg


Steve
 
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Hey, wait a minute.

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